LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

Existing law, the California Control of Profits of Organized Crime Act, provides the procedure for the forfeiture of property and proceeds acquired through a pattern of criminal profiteering activity, as specified. Under existing law, criminal profiteering activity is defined as certain acts or threats made for financial gain or advantage that may be charged as specified crimes, including, among others, grand theft and theft of personal identifying information. Existing law also defines organized crime for the purposes of these provisions as including, among other things, specified crimes that are of a conspiratorial nature and are either of an organized nature and seek to supply illegal goods and services, or crimes that, through planning and coordination of individual efforts, seek to conduct specified illegal activities.

This bill would
include within the definition of criminal profiteering activity the theft of personal property not exceeding $950 in value from the immediate area of the entry to the victim’s residence, as specified, after being delivered and deposited in that location by a commercial delivery service or by the United States Postal Service. By increasing the burdens on local prosecuting agencies, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Digest Key

Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 186.2 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

186.2.

For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(a) “Criminal profiteering activity” means any act committed or attempted or any threat made for financial gain or advantage, which act or threat may be charged as a crime under any of the following sections:

(1) Arson, as defined in Section 451.

(2) Bribery, as defined in Sections 67, 67.5, and 68.

(3) Child pornography or exploitation, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section 311.2, or Section 311.3 or 311.4, which may be prosecuted as a felony.

(4) Felonious assault,
as defined in Section 245.

(5) Embezzlement, as defined in Sections 424 and 503.

(6) Extortion, as defined in Section 518.

(7) Forgery, as defined in Section 470.

(8) Gambling, as defined in Sections 337a to 337f, inclusive, and Section 337i, except the activities of a person who participates solely as an individual bettor.

(17) Trafficking in controlled substances, as defined in Sections 11351, 11352, and 11353 of the Health and Safety Code.

(18) Violation of the laws governing corporate securities, as defined in Section 25541 of the Corporations Code.

(19) Offenses contained in Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 311) of Title 9, relating to
obscene matter, or in Chapter 7.6 (commencing with Section 313) of Title 9, relating to harmful matter that may be prosecuted as a felony.

(20) Presentation of a false or fraudulent claim, as defined in Section 550.

(21) False or fraudulent activities, schemes, or artifices, as described in Section 14107 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(22) Money laundering, as defined in Section 186.10.

(23) Offenses relating to the counterfeit of a registered mark, as specified in Section 350, or offenses relating to piracy, as specified in Section 653w.

(24) Offenses relating to the unauthorized access to computers, computer systems, and computer data, as specified in Section 502.

(25) Conspiracy to commit any of the crimes listed above, as defined in Section 182.

(26) Subdivision (a) of Section 186.22, or a felony subject to enhancement as specified in subdivision (b) of Section 186.22.

(27) Offenses related to fraud or theft against the state’s beverage container recycling program, including, but not limited to, those offenses specified in this subdivision and those criminal offenses specified in the California Beverage Container Recycling and Litter Reduction Act, commencing at Section 14500 of the Public Resources Code.

(28) Human trafficking, as defined in Section 236.1.

(29) Any crime in which the perpetrator induces, encourages, or persuades a person under 18
years of age to engage in a commercial sex act. For purposes of this paragraph, a commercial sex act means any sexual conduct on account of which anything of value is given or received by any person.

(30) Any crime in which the perpetrator, through force, fear, coercion, deceit, violence, duress, menace, or threat of unlawful injury to the victim or to another person, causes a person under 18 years of age to engage in a commercial sex act. For purposes of this paragraph, a commercial sex act means any sexual conduct on account of which anything of value is given or received by any person.

(35) Theft of personal property in violation of subdivision (a) of Section 484 if all of the following are met:

(A) The personal property is a package delivered by a commercial delivery service or by the United States Postal Service.

(B) The personal
property is deposited by the commercial delivery service or United States Postal Service outside of the victim’s residence in the immediate area of the entry to the residence, including, but not limited to, a walkway, step, landing, porch, stoop, deck, or hallway.

(C) The theft of the personal property occurs in the location described in subparagraph (B).

(D) The value of the personal property does not exceed nine hundred fifty dollars ($950).

(b) (1) “Pattern of criminal profiteering activity” means engaging in at least two incidents of criminal profiteering, as defined by this chapter, that meet the following requirements:

(A) Have the same or a similar purpose, result, principals, victims, or methods of commission, or are otherwise interrelated by distinguishing characteristics.

(B) Are not isolated events.

(C) Were committed as a criminal activity of organized crime.

(2) Acts that would constitute a “pattern of criminal profiteering activity” may not be used by a prosecuting agency to seek the remedies provided by this chapter unless the underlying offense occurred after the effective date of this chapter and the prior act occurred within 10 years, excluding any period of imprisonment, of the commission of the underlying offense. A prior act may not be used by a prosecuting agency to seek remedies provided by this chapter if a prosecution for that act resulted in an
acquittal.

(c) “Prosecuting agency” means the Attorney General or the district attorney of any county.

(d) (1) “Organized crime”means crime that is of a conspiratorial nature and that is either of an organized nature and seeks to supply illegal goods or services such as narcotics, prostitution, pimping and pandering, loan-sharking, counterfeiting of a registered mark in violation of Section 350, the piracy of a recording or audiovisual work in violation of Section 653w, gambling, and pornography, or that, through planning and coordination of individual efforts, seeks to conduct the illegal activities of arson for profit, hijacking, insurance fraud, smuggling, operating vehicle theft rings, fraud against the beverage container recycling program,
embezzlement, securities fraud, insurance fraud in violation of the provisions listed in paragraph (34) of subdivision (a), grand theft, petty theft as described in paragraph (35) of subdivision (a), money laundering, forgery, or systematically encumbering the assets of a business for the purpose of defrauding creditors. “Organized

(3) “Organized
crime” also means false or fraudulent activities, schemes, or artifices, as described in Section 14107 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and the theft of personal identifying information, as defined in Section 530.5.

(e) “Underlying offense” means an offense enumerated in subdivision (a) for which the defendant is being prosecuted.

SEC. 2.

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.